Although election judges were betting on just how low turnout could go, Johnson’s presence at the polls for a primary election hinted at the growing-but-often-untapped civic interest among younger generations.

“Let’s shake it out,” Johnson said after she cast a vote for Tio Hardiman, the former director of the Chicago anti-violence program, Ceasefire, who’s challenging Gov. Pat Quinn for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Although there’s been much talk about this being a low-turnout election, that might depend on the precinct you vote in.

Precincts 69 and 70, in which voters cast their ballots at Charter Oak Primary School, was positively humming with activity shortly before the noon hour, with close to a dozen people in various stages of voting from standing at machines to signing in.

That’s the epicenter of a controversy in Peoria School District 150 that helped to spark the Change 150 effort that has attached itself to the otherwise moribund campaign of Sue Wolstenholm, who dropped out of the contest last month. Change 150 is trying to unseat incumbent School Board member Laura Petelle, who is seeking a second five-year term.

Wolstenholm remains on the ballot. If she wins, the board will select her replacement, who will serve a one-year term until the next election.

Those precincts had seen well more than 100 voters, with one election judge describing a steady stream of voters ever since 6 a.m.

A single person stood just outside the 100-foot no-campaigning zone handing out cards urging a vote for Wolstenholm. The Peoria Federation of Teachers COPE fund paid for the cards.